Electronic music

People make music using machines.

These sounds come from wires and computers.

You can use many sounds. Some music uses sounds from birds.

Other music uses sounds from cars or people.

Musicians can change these sounds. They use tools to make them fast or slow. This can make new music.

Some tools use strings or hammers. Other tools use only electricity.

We hear these sounds in many songs today. It can be a happy beat. Do you like these sounds?

Electronic music uses machines to make or change sounds.

Some tools use only electricity to make sound. These are called pure electronic instruments. One example is the theremin.

You can play it without even touching it!

Other tools use mechanical parts like strings or hammers. These are called electromechanical instruments. Examples include the electric guitar and the Hammond organ. Some artists also use sounds from the real world. They might use bird calls or the sound of waves. They use tools like microphones and tape to change these sounds. This is called electroacoustic music.

In the 1940s, musicians used magnetic tape to change music. They could change the speed or direction of the tape. In 1948, a style called musique concrète began in Paris. This used recorded bits of everyday noise. By the 1970s, drum machines and synthesizers became very popular.

Today, you can hear electronic sounds in almost all pop music. It is everywhere in our culture now.

Electronic music is a wide group of musical styles. It uses technology like computers, software, and special circuits to create sound.

Some instruments are purely electronic. They use devices like a synthesizer or a theremin to make sound from scratch. These do not need any physical parts like strings to work. Other instruments are called electromechanical. These use mechanical parts like hammers or strings to start a sound. Then, electric parts like pickups and amplifiers turn that sound into electricity. Examples include the electric guitar and the Hammond organ.

Artists also use a style called electroacoustic music. This type uses sounds from the natural world as a starting point. A composer might use bird calls or the sound of waves on a beach.

They use microphones and digital samplers to record these noises. During a live show, they can change these sounds right as they happen. They use audio consoles and electronic effects to twist the sounds. This can include everything from traffic noise to people talking. It allows musicians to turn everyday life into art.

This journey began in the late 19th century. One early machine was the huge Telharmonium. It could even send music through telephone networks. By the 1920s and 1930s, new instruments like the theremin arrived. In the 1940s, magnetic tape changed everything. Musicians could record a sound and change its speed or direction. This led to a style in Paris called musique concrète in 1948.

This style used recorded fragments of industrial or natural noises. In 1953, Karlheinz Stockhausen made music using only electronic generators in Germany.

New tools made electronic music much more popular over time. In the 1960s, digital computer music began to grow. By the early 1970s, Moog synthesizers and drum machines helped many people find this music.

The 1970s also brought new genres like disco, hip-hop, and electronic dance music. In the 1980s, the Yamaha DX7 became a very popular digital synthesizer. This era also saw the start of MIDI, which helps instruments talk to each other.

By the 1990s, the technology became much cheaper for everyone to use.

Today, electronic music is part of almost all popular culture. It is found in many different styles like rap, techno, and jazz.

Even sounds that once seemed strange are now common in pop songs. You might hear digital sampling or computer-made beats every day. In 1989, the Love Parade in Berlin became a massive street party. It had over 1 million visitors celebrating this music together.

Electronic music now reaches every corner of the musical world.

Electronic music is a broad category of musical genres. It relies on electronic musical instruments and circuitry-based technology. It also uses software and general-purpose electronics, such as personal computers. This music can be categorized into two main types. The first is purely electronic music. These instruments use electronic oscillators or synthesizers to generate sound. They do not require any mechanical parts to create acoustic waves. The second type is electroacoustic music. This includes electromechanical instruments like the electric guitar or Hammond organ. These devices use mechanical parts like strings or hammers to create sound. Then, magnetic pickups and amplifiers convert those waves into electrical signals.

Electroacoustic music offers a way to use the entire world as an instrument. Composers can take sounds from nature, such as bird calls or ocean waves. They can also use ambient noises like traffic or people talking. Musicians use microphones, tape recorders, and digital samplers to capture these sounds. During live performances, they use audio consoles and electronic effects to modify sounds in real-time. This process allows artists to transform everyday noises into complex musical compositions.

The history of these sounds began in the late 19th century. One of the earliest massive devices was the Telharmonium. It was large enough to stream music through telephone networks. At the turn of the 20th century, these inventions were mostly used for demonstrations. However, some thinkers saw great potential in them. The Futurist movement, led by people like Luigi Russolo, wanted to include machine noises in music. They believed electricity would create a new kingdom of sound.

Technological shifts in the 1920s and 1930s made instruments more practical. The development of the vacuum tube allowed for smaller, amplified instruments. This era saw the commercial production of the theremin and the ondes Martenot. Composers like Charles Ives used these tools to explore microtonal music. Microtonal music uses intervals smaller than a traditional half-step. In the 1940s, magnetic audio tape changed how musicians worked. In Egypt, Halim El-Dabh used a wire recorder to create early tape music in 1944. This work, titled "The Expression of Zaar," used echo and reverberation.

In Paris, a specific style called musique concrète emerged in 1948. Pierre Schaeffer is credited with creating this practice. It involved editing together recorded fragments of natural and industrial sounds. Musicians used disc cutting lathes, turntables, and filters to build these works. In 1953, Karlheinz Stockhausen produced music in Germany using only electronic generators. This was a major step for purely electronic composition. By the 1950s, electronic music was also developing in Japan and the United States.

The 1960s and 1970s brought electronic music into the mainstream. Digital computer music was pioneered during the 1960s. In the early 1970s, Moog synthesizers and drum machines helped popularize the sound. This led to the rise of genres like disco, synth-pop, and hip-hop. The 1980s introduced mass-produced digital synthesizers like the Yamaha DX7. This decade also saw the development of MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI allows different electronic instruments to communicate with one another.

By the 1990s, electronic music had reached every corner of musical life. Technology became more affordable, allowing more people to produce music. Concepts that were once radical are now standard in pop music. These include digital sampling and the use of environmental sounds. Electronic music is now found in many genres, including rap, techno, and jazz. It even influences traditional music, such as artists in Iran and Turkey blending techno with local instruments. In 1989, the Love Parade in Berlin celebrated this culture with over 1 million visitors.